A Small Gift
by Cardboard Bike
Summary: Happy Birthday, Naruto-kun


All of Konoha was celebrating. People were out on the streets, dancing and laughing and tossing streamers, for it was the one day of the year that the shinobi felt free to heave off their normally demure and careful personas and become children again. Even Ibiki was smiling. It was the anniversary of the day the Kyuubi was finally defeated and their then-Hokage had died a martyr defending them.

Of course, many other shinobi had also died on that day, in that battle, but they were seen as heroes and though they were still sorely missed, people celebrated. The celebration was for them, to immortalize them, and to toast the fact that the Kyuubi would no longer terrorize their village.

Away from the festivities, in a small cottage on the outskirts of the village, a teenage boy was putting the final touches to a rather orange cake. The pink tip of his tongue peeked out from the corner of his lips in concentration as he spread the icing over the last of the cake, his face breaking out into a smile as he finished.

Putting the knife down he stretched, his back clicking. He'd been working on the cake all morning. Baking had never been his strongest point and he usually tried to avoid it, but this cake was a necessary evil. If the person it was for liked it – which he thought was likely - then the three hours he'd spent trying to get his head around the recipe and the subsequent hours trying to actually make the cake would all be worth it.

The boy scratched the old scar that stretched across the bridge of his nose, unwittingly leaving flour on it so that it matched his shirt, his pants, the floor and – well, pretty much the rest of the room. He looked at his masterpiece in satisfaction. All he had to do now was find the kid, and he had a good idea of where he would be.

On the other side of the village a small blond child was wandering the halls of the deserted academy building, pretending he was a ninja. He knew in the back of his mind that he would be better off hiding, just in case anybody came here and found him, but the temptation was just too great. It was his biggest dream to be the best of all the ninja even though they wouldn't let him enter into the academy.

They all hated him, and he didn't know why. They hated him especially on this day, ganging up on him and hurting him, which is why he should be hiding. He froze, hearing footsteps, and turned his big blue eyes toward what he assumed would be his first attacker.

"Naruto-kun, are you playing ninja again?"

The little boy's face broke out into a great big smile, and he ran to hug the older boy. He wasn't in danger after all. That was his nii-san! "I'm going to be a great ninja one day, as great as the Hokage!" he boasted.

"I'm sure you will be." Iruka smiled back, laughing. "I have a present for you. Come with me."

Iruka took the little boy's hand but Naruto hung back, clinging to his leg. "If I go out there they'll throw things at me."

The teenager looked down at the child with sorrow pooling in his big brown eyes. Life wasn't fair. The kid didn't even understand why he was hated. "We won't go past the parade," he said quietly, kneeling down and looking into the boy's eyes. "Just come to my place, I have a surprise for you."

"Will 'Zuki-san be there?" the boy asked.

A shadow crossed Iruka's face but was quickly gone, replaced with a cheerful grin. "Nope, Mizuki's at the parade and won't come home for ages. We'll have the whole place to ourselves."

Naruto grinned, and Iruka marveled at the way sunlight seemed to come out of him rather than shine on him. "Then we should go! What's the surprise?"

"I'm not telling," Iruka scolded, "If I did then it wouldn't be a surprise."

"Please, Nii-san?"

Iruka laughed, shaking his head. "You'll just have to walk faster to find out."

As soon as he said it Naruto let go of his hand, running as fast as he could in the direction of Iruka's parents old cottage. Iruka jogged to keep up with him, amused and amazed that the boy had managed to keep up the speed the whole way.

Naruto burst through the door without waiting for him, stopping short when he saw the cake on the table. He whirled around to face Iruka, blue eyes huge and round. "Is that for me?"

Iruka nodded, smiling, and though he should be used to it by now wasn't prepared for the whirlwind of orange flying at his chest and knocking him to the ground. Naruto's grin was as bright as his hair, his blue eyes shimmering with happiness. "I've never seen an orange cake before!" he exclaimed.

Iruka ruffled his fluffy blond hair gently. "Happy birthday, Naruto-kun," he said softly. Seeing that smile was worth so much more than the meaningless hours he'd spent baking the cake. He had the feeling his parents would be proud of him for trying to give the little jinchūriki even just a few moments of happiness instead of going with the rest of the village to the parade.

Naruto gurgled happily and snuggled in closer. Iruka wrapped his arms around the boy and closed his eyes, content. His parents might be gone, but Naruto had become like family to him. And he vowed to protect his family whatever the cost.


End file.
